Pictures or it didn’t happen

One week in to the overhauled, new and yet-to-be-determined-if-improved Friday Favorites and I’m already living up to my prediction that they might not always make it up by Friday.

Go easy on me, ya’ll. I’ve had a rough week.

It was take-your-daughter-back-to-college week, or as I’ve come to know it as, three to seven days of eating my feelings. Throw in some retail therapy (because obviously) and you’ve got a week that will seriously mess with your soul.

But let’s move on. I won’t allow myself to get dragged back down to the dark place where to fall asleep I have to either listen to the acoustic version of “You’re the Inspiration” in my earbuds to drown out the over contemplation of my life (seriously, what the hell happened to my 30s?), medicate (don’t worry, I have a prescription … that now that I think of it needs a refill), or both.

Besides, we’ve got to get to this post. It’s Sunday morning and I promised the 15yo I’d make her toasted coconut pancakes.
Don’t worry, there’ll be a picture.

What, you only see a glass of delicious chardonnay instead of the piles and piles of my daughter’s stuff we had to fit into the back of our car for the 300 mile drive the next morning?
Yeah, so did I.

Look at that, we managed to squeeze in.
There were rules about breathing, though.

Seriously, you guys. If I had gone to school here this terrace with this view on days like this — not to mention the free-flowing beers and brats — would’ve been dangerous. And I didn’t even like beer in college. It’s an atmosphere like no other, and one more reason I’m glad my daughter isn’t a drinker. #theicecreamisjustasdangerous

Back home two days later and time to eat our feelings.
Homemade coconut macaroons — TO DIE FOR.
For the super easy recipe we use, click HERE. (Tip: To get them extra brown I cook them like 10 extra minutes. It doesn’t make the insides any less chewy or *horrible word alert* — moist.)

GRILLED BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN
•Marinate chicken breasts in Sun Dried Tomato salad dressing
•Make bruschetta by halving grape tomatoes, chopping basil, adding garlic, salt, pepper, and shredded parmesan and tossing with a bit of the Sun Dried Tomato dressing. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
•Grill chicken.
•When done, place cooked breasts up on top rack on a piece of foil and top with bruschetta mixture (don’t worry — those silly tomatoes will most likely roll right off but you can just scoop them right back on) and close grill to let warm for about 5 minutes while you make a salad.
•Drizzle with my favorite dinner accoutrement — Balsamic GLAZE, which should come with a warning label.

I make this in the winter even when I can’t open my deck door because it’s snowed shut by just baking the chicken breasts.

How have I never bought Trader Joe’s Jose’s basic salsa before now?
Paired with TJ’s white corn chips it tastes like you’re sitting in a Mexican restaurant, which we made sure to make feel even more authentic by eating the entire bag in one sitting.
So delicious I’ve already made a trip back to stock up.
Hey, there’s like 45 days until I get to see my college girl again. That’s a lot of feelings to eat.

For some reason I missed out on The Office when it was on. I know. I’m mad at myself, too. However, it all worked out because now I get to stay up until 2 a.m. most nights binge watching episode after episode after episode and putting off pesky tasks during the day like laundry and grocery shopping and cleaning bathrooms. I wrote a fairly popular post about how my kids binged it a few summers ago, and now I get it. This screenshot is from one of my favorite episodes, “Dinner Party.”
LiveLoveJan

Now I know what to write-in on my ballot on election day.

Actually, nevermind. This is a much better idea.

I wasn’t kidding about retail therapy. This shirt — my new favorite, BTW — went home with a cute camouflage bomber jacket, new sweater (in dark gray, obviously), and new pair of jeans that I now see from this picture look almost exactly like the ones I’m wearing.
Maybe I’ll take them back.
And maybe I’ll just watch one more episode of The Office.

And about a picture of those toasted coconut pancakes?
I lied.
There’s no picture.
They were gross, so I’m gonna just pretend they never happened.

Enjoy your Labor Day, everyone. We’re hosting an end-of-summer sleepover for the 15yo’s squad tonight, so there’s a real good possibility I’ll be spending my day with Michael Scott and crew tomorrow as part of my recovery.